Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/61375
what people are think- ing, how they are think- ing, and how, when nec- essary, that thinking can be changed," Gardner writes. The book is sometimes humorous, always clear, and unfail- ingly thought-provok- ing. (Harvard Business Press, $26.95) Why are some countries rich while other countries are poor? John Kay attempts to answer this overarching question in the detailed, dense, and absorbing book Culture and Prosperity. Not surprisingly, the answer is complicated. "There can be no one-sentence or one-para- graph description of how the market economy works, just as there can be no one-sentence or one-paragraph description of how the human body works. The market economy and the human body are both complex, interdependent systems, and they are the product of evolution, not context in which they are embed- ded." For a book that is nothing less than a history of world economics, Culture and Prosperity is a surpris- ingly accessible read, filled with facts, analysis, and insights. (Harper Business, $25.95) design," he writes. That said, he traces the evolution of wealth throughout the world's countries through the effects of climate, geog- raphy, history, culture, resources, and society. His thesis is that "market insti- tutions, characterized by disciplined pluralism, func- tion because of the social Learning assessment has become the mantra for institutions of higher education, but implementing a cohesive plan to measure learning still remains a tough challenge for most schools. Mary J. Allen's Assessing Academic Programs in Higher Education aims to make the process a little easier. The book—which is written for all disciplines—outlines in clear prose the steps that faculty must take to design a program of student assess- ment. These are: develop learning objectives; align the curriculum with the objectives; develop a plan; collect data; use results to improve the pro- gram; and examine the program reg- ularly. The book is divided into in- depth examinations of how each of these steps can be accomplished, and many chapters include discussions of schools that incorporated assessment plans. Allen knows that both stu- dents and faculty may resist the restructuring required to build a cur- riculum around learning assessment, but she also knows how important the task is. "In this era of accounta- bility, we no longer have the luxury of being vague about what we expect from our graduates," she writes. "Not only does the assessment process demand clarity, but also stu- dents and the public deserve to know what they are getting in return for their money and time." (Anker Publishing Co., $39.95)s z BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2004 57